Systems and methods for response calibration

ABSTRACT

The disclosure provides methods, systems, and computer readable media for calibrating user responses to questions. The method may comprise presenting, with the aid of a computer system and an interactive display operatively coupled to the computer system, a query to a user. The query may relate to the user&#39;s dietary consumption, exercise, health condition or mental condition. The system may receive from the user a response to the query. The system may interpret a user&#39;s response to a query based on a set of reference information. The set of reference information may comprise a pictorial depiction of portion size of the dietary consumption, exertion level of the exercise, existing state of the health condition or existing state of the mental condition.

CROSS REFERENCE

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/705,552 filed Sep. 25, 2012, which is incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

A questionnaire is a series of questions or other prompts for thepurpose of gathering information from a respondent. A questionnaire maybe a research instrument designed for statistical analysis of userresponses.

A questionnaire may be presented to a user with the aid of a computersystem having a graphical user interface (GUI). A GUI is a type of userinterface that allows users to interact with electronic devices throughimages and text commands. GUIs can be used, for example, in computers,hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players, mobilephones, gaming devices, household appliances and office equipment. Insome cases, a GUI represents the information and actions available to auser through graphical icons and other visual indicators, such assecondary notation, as opposed to text-based interfaces, typed commandlabels, voice commands and responses, brail interface or textnavigation.

There are various issues and limitations associated with questionnairesystems and methods currently available. For instance, a questionnairemay present a user with the following question: “How large was yourlunch?” The questionnaire may present the user with various responseoptions to select from, such as “small”, “medium” and “large.” Theuser's selection of one of these options typically does not provide anindividual providing the questionnaire the ability to interpret theuser's response.

SUMMARY

Recognized herein is the need for improved questionnaires and systemsfor providing the questionnaires. For instance, what is needed is asystem to provide a user a questionnaire (e.g., guided questionnaire)while readily assessing user response to questions posed by thequestionnaire.

Typically, it may be difficult to assess a user's response to questionsin a questionnaire. For instance, if a user is presented with thequestion “How large was your lunch?,” if the user selects “medium”, theindividual providing the questionnaire has no way of determining whatthe user meant by “medium.” To the user, “medium” may mean, for example,a half plate, a full plate, or a plate and a half of food. In anotherexample, a user may be incapable of effectively assessing quantity. Forinstance, a user's selection of “medium” in one context or point in timemight be different from the user's selection of “medium” in anothercontext or point in time. Accordingly, provided herein are improvedquestionnaires, systems for providing questionnaires, and relatedmethods and computer readable media.

In one embodiment, a computer-implemented method for calibrating userresponses to questions relating to dietary consumption, exercise, healthcondition, or mental condition is provided, the method including: (a)presenting, with the aid of a computer system and an interactive displayoperatively coupled to the computer system, a query to a user, saidquery relating to said user's dietary consumption, exercise, healthcondition or mental condition; (b) receiving, with the aid of saidcomputer system and interactive display, a response to said query fromsaid user; and (c) interpreting, with the aid of a computer processor,said response based on a set of reference information, wherein said setof reference information comprises a pictorial depiction of portion sizeof said dietary consumption, exertion level of said exercise, existingstate of said health condition or existing state of said mentalcondition. The method may include, subsequent to step (c), monitoringthe health of said user.

In another embodiment, a computer-implemented method for calibratinguser responses to questions relating to dietary consumption, exercise,health condition, or mental condition is provided, the method including:(a) presenting, with the aid of a computer system and an interactivedisplay operatively coupled to the computer system, a query to a user,the query relating to the user's dietary consumption, exercise, healthcondition or mental condition; (b) receiving, with the aid of thecomputer system and interactive display, a response to the query fromthe user; and (c) interpreting, with the aid of the computer system, theresponse based on a calibration matrix having a set of referenceinformation, the reference information generated with the aid of apictorial depiction of portion size of the dietary consumption, exertionlevel of the exercise, existing state of the health condition orexisting state of the mental condition. The method may include,subsequent to step (c), monitoring the health of said user.

In another embodiment, provided herein is a computer readable mediumcomprising machine-executable code implementing a method for calibratinguser responses to questions relating to dietary consumption, exercise,health condition, or mental condition, including: (a) presenting, withthe aid of a computer system and an interactive display operativelycoupled to the computer system, a query to a user, the query relating tothe user's dietary consumption, exercise, health condition or mentalcondition; (b) receiving, with the aid of said computer system andinteractive display, a response to said query from said user; and (c)interpreting, with the aid of said computer system, said response basedon a set of reference information, wherein said set of referenceinformation comprises a pictorial depiction of portion size of saiddietary consumption, exertion level of said exercise, existing state ofsaid health condition, or existing state of said mental condition. Themethod for calibrating user responses to questions relating to dietaryconsumption, exercise, health condition, or mental condition mayinclude, subsequent to step (c), monitoring the health of said user.

In another embodiment, a system for calibrating user responses toquestions relating to dietary consumption, exercise, health condition,or mental condition, is provided, the system including: an interactivedisplay configured to present machine-generated graphical items to auser; and a computer system operatively coupled to said interactivedisplay, said computer system having a memory location comprisingmachine-executable code implementing, with the aid of a processor ofsaid computer system, a method comprising: (a) presenting, with the aidof said computer system and interactive display, a query to a user, saidquery relating to said user's dietary consumption, exercise, healthcondition or mental condition; (b) receiving, with the aid of saidcomputer system and interactive display, a response to said query fromsaid user; and (c) interpreting, with the aid of said computer system,said response based on a set of reference information, wherein said setof reference information comprises a pictorial depiction of portion sizeof said dietary consumption, exertion level of said exercise, existingstate of said health condition, or existing state of said mentalcondition. The method may include, subsequent to step (c), monitoringthe health of said user.

In some embodiments, in a method, system, or computer readable mediumdescribed above or elsewhere herein involving reference information, thereference information is obtained by providing to a user a choice of atleast two pictorial elements, wherein the pictorial elements depictportion size, exertion level, existing state of a health condition, orexisting state of a mental condition.

In some embodiments, in a method, system, or computer readable mediumdescribed above or elsewhere herein involving reference information, thereference information is utilized to yield a calibration matrix tocalibrate a user's response to a query relating to the user's dietaryconsumption, exercise, health condition or mental condition.

In some embodiments, in a method, system, or computer readable mediumdescribed above or elsewhere herein involving an interactive display,the interactive display is a capacitive touch or resistive touchdisplay.

In some embodiments, in a method, system, or computer readable mediumdescribed above or elsewhere herein involving reference information, thereference information is obtained or presented prior to a query to auser relating to the user's dietary consumption, exercise, healthcondition or mental condition

In some embodiments, in a method, system, or computer readable mediumdescribed above or elsewhere herein involving reference information, thereference information is obtained or presented subsequent to a query toa user relating to the user's dietary consumption, exercise, healthcondition or mental condition.

In some embodiments, in a method, system, or computer readable mediumdescribed above or elsewhere herein involving reference information, thereference information is obtained or presented concurrently with a queryto a user relating to the user's dietary consumption, exercise, healthcondition or mental condition.

In some embodiments, in a method, system, or computer readable mediumdescribed above or elsewhere herein involving a user's response to aquery relating to the user's dietary consumption, exercise, healthcondition or mental condition, the response is interpreted with the aidof a calibration matrix residing on a memory location of a computersystem.

In some embodiments, in a method, system, or computer readable mediumdescribed above or elsewhere herein involving a user's response to aquery relating to the user's dietary consumption, exercise, healthcondition or mental condition, the query is presented to the user withthe aid of a graphical user interface (GUI) on an interactive display.

In some embodiments, in a method, system, or computer readable mediumdescribed above or elsewhere herein involving a GUI, the GUI includes acustomizable menu screen containing a choice of at least one, two,three, or four of the following applications: (a) a dietary consumptioncomponent, including information concerning a user's diet and aninterface for entering food, drink or other related information; (b) anexertion level component having information related to a user's activityhabits or schedule, and an interface for entering user-specific activityinformation, exercise or other user-specific activity-relatedinformation; (c) a health condition component having informationconcerning a user's health, and an interface for responding to queriesor entering information related to the user's health condition; (d) amental condition component having information concerning a user's mentalcondition, and an interface for responding to queries or enteringinformation related to the user's mental condition; and (e) acalibration questionnaire component, wherein a user is presented with atleast one choice of pictorial elements relating to dietary consumption,exercise, health condition or mental condition, and the user's choice ofa pictorial element is used to build a calibration matrix to interpretthe user's perception of portion size of dietary consumption, exertionlevel of exercise, existing state of health condition or existing stateof mental condition.

In some embodiments, in a method, system, or computer readable mediumdescribed above or elsewhere herein involving a calibration matrix, thecalibration matrix resides on a memory location of a computer system.

In some embodiments, in a method, system, or computer readable mediumdescribed above or elsewhere herein involving a user's response to aquestion relating to dietary consumption, exercise, health condition, ormental condition, the response is interpreted using an internalcalibration matrix of the user's perception of portion size of saiddietary consumption, exertion level of said exercise, existing state ofsaid health condition or existing state of said mental condition.

In some embodiments, in a method, system, or computer readable mediumdescribed above or elsewhere herein involving an internal calibrationmatrix, the internal calibration matrix is stored on a memory locationof a computer system.

In some embodiments, in a method, system, or computer readable mediumdescribed above or elsewhere herein involving a customizable menuscreen, the customizable menu screen contains a choice of at least twoof said applications.

In some embodiments, in a method, system, or computer readable mediumdescribed above or elsewhere herein involving a system, the system is apoint of service system configured to perform one or more assays on asample.

In some embodiments, in a method, system, or computer readable mediumdescribed above or elsewhere herein involving a point of service system,the point of service system is configured to perform one, two, three ormore assays on a sample.

In one embodiment described herein, a computer-implemented method isprovided for calibrating user responses to questions relating to dietaryconsumption, exercise, health condition, or mental condition. The methodcomprises (a) presenting, with the aid of a computer system and aninteractive display operatively coupled to the computer system, a queryto a user, said query relating to said user's dietary consumption,exercise, health condition and/or mental condition; (b) receiving, withthe aid of said computer system and interactive display, a response tosaid query from said user; and (c) interpreting, with the aid of acomputer processor, said response based on a set of referenceinformation, wherein said set of reference information comprisespictorial depictions displayed to the user showing portion size of saiddietary consumption, exertion level of said exercise, existing state ofhealth condition and/or existing state of mental condition, wherein theset of reference information is generated by a) the user selectingpictorial depictions that best matches their qualitative descriptionsand b) mapping quantitative information associated user selectedpictorial depictions to quantify user qualitative descriptions.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

All publications, patents, and patent applications mentioned in thisspecification are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent asif each individual publication, patent, or patent application wasspecifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative example of a method for providing aquestionnaire to a user;

FIGS. 2A and 2B show an illustrative example of a method for presentinga questionnaire to a user;

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative example of a calibration matrix;

FIGS. 4A and 4B show an illustrative example of a system having a pointof service device in communication with other devices;

FIG. 5 shows an illustrative example of a graphical user interface;

FIG. 6 shows an illustrative example of a screenshot of a graphical userinterface having a survey for collecting information as to a user'sdietary consumption;

FIG. 7 shows an illustrative example of a screenshot of a graphical userinterface in which the user selects “Ham, Sliced”;

FIG. 8 shows an illustrative example of a screenshot of a referencequestion for interpreting the information provided by the user in FIG.7;

FIG. 9 shows an illustrative example of a screenshot of a graphical userinterface having a survey for collecting information on a user's bikeriding activity;

FIG. 10 shows an illustrative example of a screenshot showing theintensity “moderate”;

FIG. 11 shows an illustrative example of a screenshot of a referencequestion for interpreting the information provided by the user in FIG.10;

FIG. 12 shows an illustrative example of a screenshot of a graphicaluser interface having a survey for collecting information on a user'scondition; and

FIG. 13 shows an illustrative example of a screenshot of a referencequestion for interpreting the information provided by the user in FIG.12.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While various embodiments have been shown and described herein, it willbe obvious to those skilled in the art that such embodiments areprovided by way of example only. Numerous variations, changes, andsubstitutions may occur to those skilled in the art without departingfrom the systems and methods provided herein.

The term “health condition,” as used herein, refers to physiologicalcondition and/or mental condition. Mental condition may include the moodor mental state (e.g., depression) of a subject.

The term “point of service system,” as used herein, refers to a systemthat is capable of providing a service (e.g. testing, monitoring,treatment, diagnosis, guidance, sample collection, ID verification,medical services, non-medical services, etc.) at or near the site orlocation of the subject. In some situations, a point of service systemprovides a service at a predetermined location, such as a subject's homeor work, a grocery store, or a drug store. A point of service system caninclude one or more point of service devices.

The term “subject,” as used herein, refers to an individual whose healthis being monitored or that is in need of treatment or monitoring. Insome instances, a subject is an individual receiving or in need oftreatment and who is under the care of, or being acted upon by, a pointof service system. A subject may include a patient. In some cases, thesubject is a human patient. A subject can be a user of a point ofservice device (or system), or a user of a computer system associatedwith the point of service device. In some cases the terms “subject” and“user” can be used interchangeably.

The term “cloud computing” (or “cloud”), as used herein, refers to asystem in which shared resources, software and information are providedto computers and other devices as a utility over a network, such as theInternet. A cloud can include a distributed network. Shared resourcesmay include various computer systems, such as servers, that may beprovided in a distributed fashion but are operatively coupled to oneanother.

The term “dietary consumption,” as used herein, refers to a substance(solid, liquid, or semi-solid) that is ingested (or consumed) by a user,or which the user plans on ingesting. Analysis of dietary consumption insome cases can include information relating to a drug (or medication)consumed, supplement (e.g., vitamin) consumed or a metabolite thereof,cholesterol consumed, fat consumed, protein consumed, fiber consumed,carbohydrate consumed, salt consumed, and/or liquid consumed. Analysisof dietary consumption can be aided with bar-coded information ordownloadable information on the composition of a food product, orphotograph(s) of the food and/or liquid consumed, such as a meal.

The term “exercise,” as used herein, refers to an activity of a userthat helps enhance or maintain the physical fitness of that user. Auser's exercise can include sports activities, workout routines (e.g.,jogging, running), physical labor, and other training activities.

The term “health condition,” as used herein, refers to the physicalcondition of a subject. Health condition can include the level offunctional and/or metabolic efficiency of the subject.

The term “mental condition,” as used herein, refers to the condition ofthe mind of a subject, including, without limitation, psychologicalstate and/or emotion of the subject.

In some embodiments, provided herein are systems and methods forenabling a ready assessment of user responses to questionnairequestions. Methods provided herein, which can be implemented by systemsprovided herein, enable the calibration of user responses to questionsposed during a questionnaire (or survey) to improve the accuracy of theinterpretation of user responses to the questions. In some situations,this permits the system to determine what the user means by a particularresponse, such as quantity or quality.

In some embodiments, systems are provided to enable a user to collectphysiological data measuring changes in various physiologicalparameters, such as, for example, blood pressure, pulse rate, oxygensaturation, electrophysiology, iris dilation, and skin conductivity inresponse to questions. Such physiological data can supplementquestionnaire questions collected from the user. Such information can beused to monitor the health of the user, or in some cases to diagnoseand/or treat the user.

Questionnaire Methods

In some embodiments, provided herein are methods for calibrating userresponses to one or more questions. The questionnaire includes one ormore questions that are interpreted with the aid of a user's response toone or more reference questions. In some situations, the referencequestions are used to build a calibration matrix, which is subsequentlyused to interpret user response to questions provided in thequestionnaire. In some cases, the questionnaire includes questionsrelating to a user's dietary consumption, exercise, health conditionand/or mental condition.

In some embodiments, a computer-implemented method for calibrating userresponses to questions relating to dietary consumption, exercise, healthcondition, or mental condition comprises presenting a query to a user(or subject) with the aid of a computer system and an interactivedisplay operatively coupled to the computer system. The query may relateto the user's dietary consumption, exercise, health condition and/ormental condition, or in some cases the query can relate to other factorsrelated to the user, such as the subject's sleep (e.g., sleep pattern),mood, exercise history, stress levels, health history, hormone status,and/or menstrual cycle. Next, with the aid of the computer system andinteractive display, a response to the query is received from the user.A processor is then used to interpret the response based on a set ofreference information. In some embodiments, the set of referenceinformation comprises a representation of portion size of the dietaryconsumption, exertion level of the exercise, existing state of healthcondition and/or existing state of mental condition. The representationcan be pictorial, audible, or a combination thereof, such as video. Insome cases, the set of reference information comprises a pictorialdepiction of portion size of the dietary consumption, exertion level ofthe exercise, existing state of health condition and/or existing stateof mental condition.

In some cases, the reference information is obtained by providing to theuser a choice of at least 2, or 3, or 4, or 5, or 6, or 7, or 8, or 9,or 10, or 15, or 20, or 30, or 40, or 50, or 100 pictorial elements. Thepictorial elements may depict the portion size, the exertion level, theexisting state of the health condition, and/or the existing state of themental condition.

In some embodiments, the reference information is obtained prior to thequery. That is, a device or system implementing the query presents areference question to the user prior to the actual query. In otherembodiments, the reference information is obtained subsequent to thequery. In such cases, the device or system implementing the querypresents the reference question to the user after the actual query. Inother embodiments, the reference information is obtained concurrentlywith the query. In such cases, the device or system implementing thequery presents the user with the actual query and the reference questionat the same time (e.g., in the same page).

In some embodiments, a computer-implemented method for calibrating userresponses to questions relating to dietary consumption, exercise, healthcondition, or mental condition, comprises presenting, with the aid of acomputer system and an interactive display operatively coupled to thecomputer system, a query to a user, the query relating to the user'sdietary consumption, exercise, health condition and/or mental condition.Next, with the aid of the computer system and interactive display, aresponse to the query is received from the user. Next, with the aid ofthe computer system, the response is interpreted based on a calibrationmatrix having a set of reference information. The reference informationmay be generated with the aid of a pictorial depiction of portion sizeof the dietary consumption, exertion level of the exercise, existingstate of health condition and/or existing state of mental condition.

FIG. 1 shows a method 100 for providing a questionnaire to a userprovided herein. The questionnaire can be implemented with the aid ofsystems and devices provided herein. A system or device includes one ormore processors for executing machine-readable code implementing themethod 100. The machine readable code is stored in a memory location ofthe system or device. In some cases, the machine readable code is storedin remote system and, in some situations, executed in the remote system.

In a first step 101, a system implementing the questionnaire presents auser with a query having one or more questions (e.g., “How are youfeeling today?”). The questions can be presented to the user with theaid of graphical, textual, audio, and/or video elements, such as a videoof an actor or animation asking the user a question. These elements canbe provided to the user with the aid of an interactive display of asystem or device implementing the method 100. Next, in a second step102, the user inputs a response into the system implementing the method100 (e.g., “I am feeling moderately well”). The user can input theresponse using an interactive display or other input device of thesystem, such as a touch screen (e.g., capacitive touch screen, resistivetouch screen), voice activation and/or gestures. Next, in a third step103, the system interprets the response based on one or more referenceinformation. In some cases, the system determines what the user meant bythe user's response in the second step 102. In an example, the systeminterprets what the user means by “moderately well” in the context ofwell-being. Next, in a fourth step 104, the system determines whetherthere are additional questions to present to the user in thequestionnaire. Steps 101-103 can then be repeated as necessary topresent additional questions to the user.

In some embodiments, interpreting the user's response includes providingthe user a reference question and receiving a response from the user tothe reference question. With reference to FIG. 1, during the third step103, the system interprets the user's response using one or moreresponses received from the user to reference questions posed to theuser. In step 105, the user is presented with a reference question(e.g., “Which picture most closely approximates the mood ‘moderatelywell’?”). Next, in step 106, the user selects a picture from theoptions. In some embodiments, steps 105 and 106 are repeated, such as togain an assessment of user responses to various types of questionsrelating to the user's dietary consumption, exercise, health conditionand/or mental condition, or to collect additional responses to interpretthe user's response 103. The system then uses the user's response to thereference question to interpret the user's response 103.

The reference (or calibration) question can be used to interpret auser's response. In some embodiments, the reference information caninclude a pictorial depiction of portion size of dietary consumption,exertion level of exercise, existing state of health condition and/orexisting state of mental condition. The reference question can bepresented to the user at least 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 9, 10, 20, 30, 40,50, 100, or more times per questionnaire session (“session”), or everyother session, or once per a group of sessions, or periodically, such atleast every 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20, 30, or more days.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show an illustrative example of a method for presentinga questionnaire to a user. In FIG. 2A, in a first screen, the user ispresented with a question 201, namely “What was the size of your apple?”The user is presented with three options 202, namely “Small”, “Medium”and “Large.” The user selects “Medium.” With reference to FIG. 2B, in asecond screen, the system presents the user with a reference (orcalibration) question 203, namely “Which picture best approximates amedium apple?” In some embodiments, the calibration question gauges theuser's perception of quantitative or qualitative factors, such asportion size. The system also presents the user with three images ofapples, at least one of which may correspond with the user's definitionof the term “Medium.” Alternatively, the system can first present theuser with the reference question 203, and subsequently present the userwith the question 201. As another alternatively, the reference question203 and question 201 can be presented simultaneously (e.g., on the samescreen). The user's selection of one of the images 204 enables thesystem to interpret the user's response to the question 201. In someembodiments, this can be used to normalize other responses, such asother responses related to the user's diet. The number below each of theimages 204 is a numeric representation of the image 204, which may behidden from the user. For instance, the number “3” represents the applein the middle.

Although FIG. 2B provide five images to calibrate the size of an apple,the calibration question can present the user with any number of apples,such as at least 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, or 7, or 8, or 9, or 10, 20, 30,40, or more apples of varying sizes. FIGS. 2A and 2B are described inthe context of apples, but FIGS. 2A and 2B can be applied to othercontexts, such as to other foods or consumable substances, exercise,health condition and mental conditions.

In some embodiments, an image of an object may be presented on a screen,wherein the image on the screen has the same height, length, and/orwidth as a dimension of the actual object which is the presented as animage (e.g. if the real height of an apple is 8 cm, an image of thatapple on a screen also has a height of 8 cm). In some embodiments, animage of an object may be presented on a screen with an image of areference object of a standard size (e.g. a tennis ball, a United Statesquarter, a ruler) at the same scale. By presenting an image of an objecton a screen with an image of a reference object of a standard size atthe same scale, a user may readily associate a certain size of an imageon a screen with the dimensions of the actual object corresponding tothe image on the screen. This may be useful, for example, if the imageof an object on a screen has a different height, length, and/or widththan a dimension of the corresponding actual object (e.g. if the realheight of an object is 10 cm, but an image of that object on a screenonly has a height of 2 cm).

In some embodiments, a user is presented with a reference question once.The user's response to the reference questions is used in subsequentquestionnaire questions. As such, a questionnaire question may not benecessarily followed by a calibration questions in each instance.

In some situations, the system makes use of responses to calibrationquestions for interpreting user responses to subsequent questionnairequestions. The system can ask the user calibration questions atpredetermined intervals or at pseudo-random points during thequestionnaire to assess the accuracy of the calibration responses.

The system can present a user with a reference question within aparticular category (e.g., dietary consumption, exercise, healthcondition or mental condition) and receive a response from the user.This provides category-specific calibration. For subsequentquestionnaire questions within the same category, the system uses thecategory-specific calibration to interpret user responses.

Calibration questions and/or options for a user (or subject) to choosefrom within a calibration question can be fixed based on the user'sresponses to prior calibration or questionnaire questions, or may varybased on the user's responses. In some cases, response choices presentedto the user for a calibration question is a function of the user'sresponse to a questionnaire question (see, e.g., Example 3).

In some situations, calibration questions are used to assess theinternal consistency of the user. This can permit the system to flaginstances in which the user inputs a response to a questionnairequestion that is inconsistent with the user's responses to otherquestions. The system may calibrate flagged response more frequently. Inother situations, the calibration question may preclude the need forselecting an image that corresponds to a response to a question. Forexample, with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B, once the system has beencalibrated, the calibration of FIG. 2B can be precluded and the systemuses a prior response to a calibration question to determine what theuser means by “Medium.”

In some situations, the system builds and/or updates a calibrationmatrix having responses to calibration questions. The calibration matrixcan include columns having calibration items, such as food items oractivity level, and rows for quantity or degree of exertion, to name afew examples. Pictorial responses to questions (see, e.g., FIG. 2B) canbe represented by numbers. For example, a small apple and medium applecan be represented by the numbers 1 and 3, respectively. The system caninclude a plurality of calibration matrixes for different types ofquestions, such as questions relating to dietary consumption, exercise,health condition and mental condition. A calibration matrix can bestored on a memory location of the system.

In some embodiments, a calibration matrix is located in a memorylocation of the system, such as a hard drive or data storage unit (e.g.,database) of the system. The calibration matrix can thus be an internalcalibration matrix. In other embodiments, the calibration matrix is anexternal calibration matrix that is located in a memory location of aremote computer system, which can be accessed by the system using anetwork. In an example, the calibration matrix is stored in the cloudand accessed by the system using wired or wireless network connectivity.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a calibration matrix 300 provided herein. Thematrix includes columns and rows orthogonal to the columns, and cells atthe intersections of columns and rows. The matrix 300 is for thecategory dietary consumption, which can relate to food items ingested bya user. The rows have values that correspond to potential sizes of fooditems, namely “Small,” “Medium,” and “Large.” The columns have numericrepresentations of images selected by the user that correspond to thesizes. For instance, the cell at row “Small” for “Apple” has the number1, which corresponds to the left-most image in FIG. 2B, and the cell atrow “Medium” has the number 3, which corresponds to the middle image inFIG. 2B.

In some situations, the system provides the user direct comparisons toobjects of given sizes, which can be used to supplement calibrationdata. In an example, the system asks the user to select the larger (orsmaller) of two items.

A plurality of matrixes can be used to calibrate user responses toquestions in various categories. A calibration matrix can be used tocalibrate user responses to questionnaire questions relating to theuser's mental condition (e.g., mood), exercise (e.g., level of activity)and/or health condition (e.g., sick). Calibration matrixes are notlimited to the categories provided herein; calibration matrixes forother categories may be provided.

Questionnaires (or surveys) described herein can be implemented on anycomputer system having one or more processors, such as centralprocessing units (CPUs). In some cases, a questionnaire is performed bya point of service device (see below) that, in some cases, is configuredto processes a sample of a subject. In other cases, a questionnaire isperformed by a computer system that may not be a point of servicedevice, but can be in communication with the point of service device,such as through a network.

Systems

In some embodiments, provided herein are systems for implementingquestionnaires (or surveys). A system can be a point of service system(or device). In some embodiments, a system for calibrating userresponses to questions relating to dietary consumption, exercise, healthcondition, or mental condition includes an interactive display and acomputer system operatively coupled to the interactive display. Forexample, the interactive display can be in communication with thecomputer system with the aid of a bus of the computer system, or anetwork. The interactive display is configured to presentmachine-generated graphical items to a user. The computer systemincludes a memory location comprising machine-executable codeimplementing, with the aid of a processor of the computer system,methods provided herein.

In an example, the memory location comprises machine-executable codeimplementing a method comprising presenting, with the aid of thecomputer system and interactive display, a query to a user, the queryrelating to the user's dietary consumption, exercise, health conditionand/or mental condition. Next, with the aid of the computer system andinteractive display, a response to the query is received from the user.With the aid of the computer system, the response is interpreted basedon a set of reference information. The set of reference informationcomprises a pictorial depiction of portion size of the dietaryconsumption, exertion level of the exercise, existing state of healthcondition, and/or existing state of mental condition.

The interactive display can be a capacitive touch or resistive touchdisplay. The display can have other functionality, such as thecapability to collect biometric information from the user. For instance,the display can be used to measure the user's body-fat percentage withthe aid of two-point touch through one or both hands of the user (e.g.,the user places two fingers on the display). The display can also havechemical or electrical sensors to sense factors specific to the user (orsubject) that may help identify the state or health condition of thesubject.

In some embodiments, a point of service device can include a displayhaving a user interface (UI). In some situations, the user interface isprovided to a user through a graphical user interface (GUI) that mayenable a subject to interact with device. The display can thus be aninteractive display. Examples of displays and/or user interfaces includea touch screen, video display, LCD screen, CRT screen, plasma screen,light sources (e.g., LEDs, OLEDs), IR LED based surfaces spanning aroundor across devices, modules or other components, pixelsense basedsurface, infrared cameras or other capture technology based surfaces,projector, projected screen, holograms, keys, mouse, button, knobs,sliding mechanisms, joystick, audio components, voice activation,speakers, microphones, a camera (e.g., 2D, 3D cameras), multiple cameras(e.g., may be useful for capturing gestures and motions),glasses/contact lenses with screens built-in, video capture, hapticinterface, temperature sensor, body sensors, body mass index sensors,motion sensors, and/or pressure sensors. Any description herein of adisplay and/or user interface may apply to any type of display and/oruser interface.

A display may provide information to a user of the device (e.g., pointof service device). A user interface may provide information to and/orreceive information from the operator (or user). In some embodiments,such information includes visual information, audio information, sensoryinformation, thermal information, pressure information, motioninformation, or any other type of information. Sound, video, and colorcoded information (such as red LED's indicating a module is in use) maybe used to provide feedback to users using a point of service system orinformation system, or interfacing with a system through touch orotherwise. In some embodiments, a user interface or other sensor of thedevice detects if someone is approaching the device, and causes thedevice to “wake up” (i.e. become activated). The user interface or othersensor can also be used to put the system to “sleep” if no users aredetected.

In some cases, a graphical user interface (GUI) is presented on aninteractive screen containing a choice of at least one of the followingapplications: (a) a dietary consumption component, including informationconcerning the user's diet and an interface for entering food, drink orother related information; (b) an exertion level component havinginformation related to the user's activity habits or schedule, and aninterface for entering user-specific activity information, exercise orother user-specific activity-related information; (c) a health conditioncomponent having information concerning the user's health, and aninterface for responding to queries and/or entering information relatedto the user's health condition; (d) a mental condition component havinginformation concerning the user's mental condition, and an interface forresponding to queries and/or entering information related to the user'smental condition; and (e) a calibration questionnaire component, whereinthe user is presented with at least one choice of pictorial elements(including text, video and/or sound) relating to dietary consumption,exercise, health condition and/or mental condition, and the user'schoice of a pictorial element is used to build a calibration matrix tointerpret the user's perception of portion size of the dietaryconsumption, exertion level of the exercise, existing state of healthcondition, or existing state of mental condition. In some situations,the GUI comprises a customizable menu screen, which can permit a user orother individual (e.g., a health care provider, such as a doctor) tocustomize the menu screen.

Point of service systems (or devices) provided herein can be asdescribed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/244,947 to Holmes etal. and PCT application Ser. No. PCT/US2012/057155 entitled (“SYSTEMSAND METHODS FOR MULTI-ANALYSIS”) filed Sep. 25, 2012, which are bothfully entirely incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. Apoint of service system may perform one or more, 2 or more, 3 or more, 4or more, 5 or more, 10 or more, 20 or more, 30 or more, 40 or more, 50or more, or 100 or more assays on a sample. In some cases, a point ofservice system can perform sample processing, subsequent data processingand, in some cases, data analysis.

In other cases, a point of service system can perform sample processingand transmit pre-processed data to a remote system for data processingand, in some cases, analysis.

FIG. 4A illustrates an example of point of service system (or device)400 having a display 401. The display is configured to provide a userinterface 402, such as a graphical user interface (GUI), to a subject.The display 401 can be a touch display, such as a resistive-touch orcapacitive-touch display. The point of service system 400 is configuredto communicate with a remote device 403, such as, for example, apersonal computer, Smart phone (e.g., Apple® iPhone®, Android-enabledtelephone), tablet (e.g., Apple® iPad®), or server. The point of servicesystem 400 has a central processing unit (CPU) 404, memory 405,communications module (or interface) 406, hard drive 407 and datarepository 408. The memory 405, communications module 406, hard drive407 and data repository 408 are operatively coupled to the CPU 404. Thedata repository 408 can include a memory and hard drive. In somesituations, the data repository 408 is precluded. In some embodiments,the point of service system 400 includes a camera 409 (or in some casesa plurality of cameras, such as for three-dimensional imaging) for imageand video capture. The point of service system 400 may include a soundrecorder for capturing sound. Images and/or videos may be provided to asubject with the aid of the display 401. In other embodiments, thecamera 409 may be a motion-sensing input device (e.g., Microsoft®Kinect®).

The camera 409 can be a two-dimensional camera or a three-dimensionalcamera. The camera 409 can capture still images and/or a video feed, inaddition to sound. In some cases, the camera 409 is a thermal imagingcamera, adapted to collect infrared radiation (IR) and correlate thecollected light with the temperature of, for example, a user in view ofthe camera 409. In some cases, the camera 409 is a lens-less camera,such as a computation camera (e.g., Frankencamera).

The point of service system 400 is configured to implement questionnairemethods described herein. For instance, the point of service system 400can implement the method 100 provided in FIG. 1. Questionnaire questionscan be presented to a user remotely from the point of service system400, such as with the aid of a network and user interface (e.g., GUI) ofthe remote device 403.

With reference to FIG. 4B, the point of service system 400 is configuredto be in network communication with other devices through a network 410,which may be an intranet and/or the Internet. In the illustratedexample, the point of service system 400 is in network communicationwith a first computer system 411, second computer system 412 and thirdcomputer system 413 that are located remotely from the point of servicesystem 400. One or more of the computer systems 411, 412 and 413 mayenable other users to access the point of service system 400 remotely.In some situations, one or more of the computer systems 411, 412 and 413are data repositories for storing user information. In some cases, oneor more of the computer systems 411, 412 and 413 are configured toenable data processing remotely from the point of service system 400.

The point of service system 400 can communicate with the network 410 andwith the computer systems 411, 412 and 413 with the aid of thecommunications module 406 of the point of service system 400. Thecommunications module 406 can include a wired or wireless interface forwired or wireless communication with the network 410, respectively.

In some cases, the point of service system 400 is configured tocommunicate with the network 410 through a wireless network access point414. The wireless network access point 414 can be configured forcommunication using various wireless modes of communication, such as,for example, 2G, 3G, 4G, long term evolution (LTE), WiFi or Bluetooth.The communications module 406 of the system 400 can enable the system400 to wirelessly communicate with the wireless network access point414.

The remote device 403 can communicate with the point of service system400 via a wireless interface of the point of service system 400, whichmay be included in the communications module 406. In an example,wireless communication can be via WiFi or Bluetooth connectivity. Asshown in FIG. 4A, the remote device 403 communicates directly with thepoint of service system 400. In FIG. 4B, the remote device 403communicates with the point of service system 400 via the wirelessnetwork access point 414. In an example, the remote device 403communicates with the point of service system 400 through the wirelessnetwork access point 414 and subsequently the network 410. In anotherexample, the remote device 403 communicates with the network 410 andsubsequently with the wireless network access point 414 that is inwireless communication with the system 400 either directly or with theaid of another wireless network access point (not shown).

One or more sensors may be incorporated into the point of service system400 and/or user interface 402. The sensors may be provided on the systemhousing, external to the system housing, or within the system housing.Any of the sensor types describing elsewhere herein may be incorporated.Some examples of sensors include optical sensors, sound, imaging,temperature sensors, motion sensors, depth sensors, pressure sensors,electrical characteristic sensors, gyroscopes or acceleration sensors(e.g., accelerometer), and pulse oximeter.

In an example, the point of service system 400 includes an accelerometerthat detects, for example, when the point of service system 400 is beingmoved or when the point of service system 400 is not disposed on apreferable or ideal surface (e.g., horizontal surface), such as when thesystem has tipped over. In another example, the accelerometer detectswhen the system is being moved. In such circumstances, the point ofservice system 400 may shutdown to prevent damage to various componentsof the system 400. Prior to shutting down, the point of service system400 may take a picture of a predetermined area on or around the system400 with the aid of the camera 409.

The user interface 402 (e.g., graphical user interface) provides aquestionnaire to a subject (or user). The questionnaire can include oneor more questions. The questionnaire can be a guided questionnaire,including a series of questions of or related to a subject's dietaryconsumption, exercise, health condition and/or mental condition. Inaddition, the user interface 402 can display information relating to theoperation of the point of service system 400 and/or data collected fromthe system 400. The user interface 402 may display information relatingto a protocol that may be performed on the point of service system 400.The user interface 402 may include information relating to a protocolprovided from a source external to the point of service system 400, orprovided from the point of service system 400. The user interface 402may display information relating to a subject and/or health care accessfor the subject. For example, the user interface 402 may displayinformation relating to the subject identity and medical insurance forthe subject. The user interface 402 may display information relating toscheduling and/or processing operation of the point of service system400.

The user interface 402 may be capable of receiving one or more inputsfrom a user of the point of service system 400. For example, the userinterface 402 is capable of receiving responses to questions provided toa subject as part of a questionnaire. In addition, the user interface402 can receive instructions about one or more assay or procedure to beperformed by the point of service system 400. The user interface 402 mayreceive instructions from a user about one or more sample processingsteps to occur within the system 400. The user interface may receiveinstructions about one or more analytes to be observed.

The user interface 402 is capable of receiving information relating tothe identity of a subject. The subject identity information may beentered by the subject or another operator of the device or imaged orotherwise captured by the user interface 402 itself. Such identificationmay include biometric information, issued identification cards, or otheruniquely identifiable physiological (e.g., biological) or identifyingfeatures, materials, or data. The user interface 402 may include one ormore sensors that assist with receiving identifying information aboutthe subject. The user interface 402 may have one or more questions orinstructions pertaining to the subject's identity to which the subjectmay respond. In some cases, the user interface 402 may request apassword and/or security question(s) from the subject.

In some embodiments, the user interface 402 is configured to display aquestionnaire to a subject. The questionnaire can include questionsabout the subject's dietary consumption, exercise, health conditionand/or mental condition. The questionnaire can be a guided questionnairehaving one or a plurality of questions presented to the subject throughone or more screens, as displayed on the display 401 or a display of aremote device, such as the remote device 403. The plurality of questionsmay be presented to the subject sequentially (i.e., one after another).The questionnaire may be presented to the subject with the aid of one ora combination of text, images, video or sound. In some situations, theuser interface 402 is a graphical user interface and the questionnaireis presented to the subject on the display 401 with the aid of one ormore of textual, graphical, audio and video elements.

In some cases, the remote device 403 comprises a camera that isconfigured retrieve visual and/or auditory information relating to thedietary consumption, exercise, health condition and/or mental conditionof a user. Such visual and/or auditory information (e.g., image, video,sound) can be used to respond to questionnaire questions, or to collectinformation to enable the system 400 to monitor the dietary consumption,exercise, health condition and/or mental condition of the user. In anexample, the camera of the remote device (e.g., iPhone®) can be used tocapture an image of a food item. The image can be subsequently directedto the system 400 or directed to a remote system, such as the cloud. Thesystem 400 can subsequently use the image as a response to aquestionnaire question (e.g., if the user was asked by the system 400 totake a picture of a “large” apple). Alternatively, the system 400 cananalyze such information collected by the remote device 403 to determineportion size of the dietary consumption, exertion level of the exercise,existing state of health condition and/or existing state of mentalcondition. In an example, the system 400 can analyze an image of a fooditem captured by a camera of the remote device 403 to estimate theportion size of the food item and, in some cases, the caloricinformation of the food item.

The system 400 can use information collected by a user, such as with theaid of the remote device 403, to supplement the user's responses toquestionnaire questions, or in some cases to test the user's responsesfor accuracy. The system 400 can use such user input to update orotherwise refine a calibration matrix of the user. In some cases, suchuser input includes photographs (or pictures) of items that related tothe user's dietary consumption, exercise, health condition and/or mentalcondition. Such user input can be provided with reference data, such asa reference image of an item having known dimensions (e.g., diameter,thickness). In some cases, the reference data and user input can beprovided in the same frame.

For example, the system 400 can request that the user take a picture ofa “large apple” and the user can take a picture of what the user find tobe a large apple. The system 400 can request that the user take areference picture of an item for which the system 400 has readilyidentifiable dimensions, such as the picture of a coin (e.g., UnitedStates Quarter). The reference picture can be used to determine a sizeof the picture of the apple. The reference picture can be provided inthe same frame as the picture of the apple. The system 400 can thencompare the picture of the “large apple” taken by the user withresponses to calibration questions directed at apple sizes to determinewhether the system's calibration is acceptable or unacceptable. In thelatter case, the system can update the system's calibration as to applesizes in view of the user's response. For example, the system 400 candigitize the picture of the apple taken by the user, assign the picturea numerical value that is indicative of the size of the apple in thepicture, correlate the size with how the user perceives the apple (e.g.,“large apple”), and input the numerical value in a calibration matrix(see, e.g., FIG. 3) of the system under “large apple.”

A user interface, such as a graphical user interface (GUI), can beimplemented on the display 401 of the system 400, or on a display of theremote device 403, or a display of the first computer system 411, secondcomputer system 412 and/or third computer system 413.

Textual, graphical, audio and video elements can be presented to asubject with the aid of hardware and/or software configured to generateand display (or provide) the textual, graphical, audio and videoelements. The software can include, for instance, a web browserimplementing (e.g., compiling) machine executable instructions in theform of machine-readable code, such as hypertext markup language (e.g.,HTML 5), JavaScript, C sharp, Java/J++, C++(or other object-orientedcode). In some situations, such software is rendered with the aid of aWeb browser, Adobe® Flash®, or the like. Graphical elements can includeimages, widgets and icons that aid in implementing the questionnaire.

The user interface 402 may be capable of receiving additionalinformation relating to the subject's dietary consumption, exercise,health condition and/or mental condition. The additional information maybe entered directly by the subject or another operator of the system400. The subject may be prompted by one or more questions orinstructions from the user interface and may enter information inresponse. The questions or instructions can relate to qualitativeaspects of the subject's life (e.g., how the subject is feeling). Insome embodiments, the information provided by the subject is qualitativeand not quantitative. In some instances, however, the subject may alsoprovide quantitative information, such as, for example, the subject'sweight. In some cases, information provided by the subject may pertainto one or more analyte levels within a sample from the subject.

In some embodiments, the system 400 is configured to communicate withone or more peripheral devices configured to collect information as tothe subject's dietary consumption, exercise, health condition and/ormental condition. The one or more peripheral devices can be selectedfrom a weight scale, blood pressure monitor, glucose monitor, hear ratemonitor, electronic device with a camera, pulse oximeter, and/or otherlocal analytical system. The electronic device with the camera mayinclude image recognition software; alternatively, the system 400 orremote server can include image recognition software to enable thesystem 400 to recognize the subject's food from a picture taken by theelectronic device.

In some cases, during questionnaire (or survey) the point of servicesystem 400 can also collect information relating to therapy and/ormedications undergone or currently taken by the subject. The userinterface 402 may prompt the subject using a survey or similartechnique. In such a case, the questionnaire can include graphics,images, video, audio, and/or other media.

The questionnaire may have a fixed set of questions and/or instructions,or, alternatively, questions that are not fixed and which can vary basedon the user's responses. In some cases the questionnaire can provide theuser with a fixed set of questions, while in other cases the questionscan vary. In an example, the point of service system 400 has a machinelearning algorithm that learns from a subject's responses to questions,including reference questions, and provides additional questions basedon the subject's responses. In some cases the questions vary based onthe information gleaned from the system 400 in response to the user'sprevious questions. The survey (e.g., the sequence and/or content of thequestions) may dynamically change depending on the subject's answers. Inan example, if the system 400 determines that the subject is beinginconsistent as to the subject's responses to reference questions, thesystem 400 can ask follow-up questions.

Identifying information about the subject and/or additional informationrelating to the subject can be stored in the system 400 and/ortransmitted to an external device or cloud computing infrastructurethrough the network 410, for example. Such information may be useful inanalyzing data relating to a sample collected from the subject, or formonitoring a subject's health or well-being. Such information may alsobe used by insurance providers to make decisions as to the subject'sinsurance coverage (e.g., premiums).

The user interface 402 and/or sensors of the system 400 may be capableof collecting information relating to the subject or an environment ofor relating to the subject. For example, the system 400 may collectinformation through a screen, thermal sensor, optical sensor, imagingdevice, motion sensor, depth sensor, pressure sensor, electricalcharacteristic sensor, acceleration sensor (e.g., accelerometer), any/orother type of sensor described herein or known in the art. In anexample, the optical sensor may be or be part of a camera (such as,e.g., the camera 409). The optical sensor may capture one or more staticimages of the subject and/or video images of the subject.

With the aid of the camera 409 the system 400 may collect an image ofthe subject. The image may be a 2D image of the subject. The system 400may collect a plurality of images of the subject that may be used todetermine a 3D representation of the subject. The system 400 may collecta one-time image of the subject. The system 400 may collect images ofthe subject over time. The system 400 may collect images with anyfrequency. In some embodiments, the system 400 may continually collectimages in real-time. The system 400 may collect a video of the subject.The system 400 may collect images relating to any portion of thesubject, including, but not limited to, the subject's eye or retina, thesubject's face, the subject's neck, the subject's hand, the subject'sfingertip, the subject's torso, and/or the subject's overall body. Theimages collected of the subject may be useful for identifying thesubject and/or for diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, or prevention of adisease for the subject. In some instances, images may be useful fordetermining the subject's height, circumference, weight, or body massindex. The system 400 may also capture the image of a subject'sidentification card, insurance card, or any other object associated withthe subject.

In some situations, the camera 409 can be used to enable a user tocommunicate with another user, such as a healthcare provider. The system400 can permit the user to communication with another user in asynchronous fashion such that the communication is live, or in anasynchronous fashion. Under asynchronous communication, the system 400collects a sound, image and/or video of the user and transmits thecollection sound, image and/or video to a remote system of another userwho can then review collected sound, image and/or video at a later pointin time.

The point of service system 400 may also collect audio information fromthe subject. Such audio information may include the subject's voice orthe sound of one or more biological processes of the subject. Forexample, the audio information can include the sound of the subject'sheartbeat or a sound associated with the subject breathing.

The point of service system 400 may collect biometric information abouta subject. For example, the point of service system 400 can collectinformation about the subject's body temperature. In another example,the point of service system 400 can collect information about thesubject's pulse rate. In some instances, the point of service system 400can scan at least a portion of a tissue or body part of the subject,such as the subject's retina, fingerprint or handprint. In some cases,the point of service system 400 may determine the subject's weight. Thepoint of service system 400 may also collect a sample from the subjectand sequence the subject's genes (e.g., DNA) or a portion thereof. Thepoint of service system 400 may also collect a sample from the subjectand conduct a proteomic analysis thereon. Such information may be usedin the operation of the system 400. Such information may relate to thediagnosis or the identity of the subject. In some embodiments, the pointof service system 400 may collect information about the operator of thesystem who may or may not be different from the subject. Suchinformation can be useful for verifying the identity of the operator ofthe system.

In some instances, such information collected by the point of servicesystem 400 can be used to identify the subject. The subject's identitymay be verified for insurance or treatment purposes. The subjectidentify may be tied to the subject's medical records. In someinstances, the data collected by the point of service system 400 fromthe subject and/or sample may be linked to the subject's records. Thesubject identity may also be tied into the subject's health insurance(or other payer) records. Compliance with drug dosing regimes can beascertained by the frequency with which the medication is renewed, ascommunicated from pharmacy databases.

In some instances, such information, including medical records, can beaugmented with the subject's responses to questionnaire questions. Thiscan permit a healthcare provider to correlate the subject's healthand/or mental condition with the subject's responses to questionnairequestions that relate to the subject's dietary consumption, exercise,health condition and/or mental condition.

Responses to questionnaire questions can be used to determine asubject's eligibility. In an example, an individual arrives at a pointof service location and performs an eligibility test to see if theindividual is eligible for one or more tests. The individual may then bepre-screened and can answer one or more questions provided by aquestionnaire. The questionnaire can include reference questions, asdescribed elsewhere herein. The questionnaire can include questionsabout the subject's lifestyle (e.g., diet, exercise, habits) and/ormedical history. A physician can perform a physician check of theindividual. In some situations, the questionnaire includes questionsabout the subject's dietary consumption, exercise, health conditionand/or mental condition. The subject's health condition may be relatedto the subject's physiological condition. The subject's mental conditionmay be related to the subject's mood or other mental condition, such asdepression. The questionnaire may be a guided questionnaire, having aplurality of questions of or related to the subject's dietaryconsumption, exercise, health condition and/or mental condition that arepresented to a user in a predetermined order. In some situations, thequestionnaire is presented to the subject with the aid of a system (orsub-system) of the point of service system 400 configured to learn fromthe subject's responses and tailor subsequent questions in response tothe subject's responses. In some cases, questionnaire results can alsobe used to prepare the SPU for any expected complications in sampleprocessing and/or chemical assays. In an example, a subject identifyinghim or herself as a smoker can trigger a flag for expected highhematocrit, thereby requiring careful extraction of plasma from thecentrifuged sample.

In some embodiments, lifestyle recommendations may be made to thesubject by the point of service system 400 and/or a system associatedwith the point of service system 400. Such recommendations may beprovided prior to, concurrently with, or subsequent to the subjectcompleting the questionnaire. Such recommendations may be made based onthe information gathered within the questionnaire, medical records,biochemical data, and/or test results. For example, the system couldprovide information to a subject about how the subject's perception of alevel or amount relating to dietary consumption, exercise, healthcondition and/or mental condition relates to a quantifiable standard. Insome embodiments, a point of service system 400 and/or a systemassociated with the point of service system 400 may help educate asubject regarding his or her health or other condition.

In some embodiments, the point of service system 400 interprets subjectresponses to questions with the aid of reference information comprisinga pictorial depiction of portion size of the dietary consumption,exertion level of the exercise, existing state of health conditionand/or existing state of mental condition. The reference information maybe included in a calibration matrix stored in a memory location (e.g.,cache, hard drive, flash memory) of the system 400. Alternatively,subject responses can be interpreted with the aid of a server locatedremotely from the point of service system 400. The server can include acalibration matrix.

In some situations, the point of service system 400 and/or health carepersonnel can collect biometric information about the subject beingmonitored, such as, e.g., blood pressure, weight, body temperature. Thismay be coupled with a test of a sample collected from the subject, whichmay be processed by the point of service system 400. All of theinformation may be linked and may be accessible by the clinical decisionsupport system. In some embodiments, all the information may be linkedwithin a single subject's records. Such procedures may be useful forannual checkups or preventative care. Such procedures may also be usefulfor diagnosing, treating, and/or monitoring a disease.

In some embodiments, the point of service system 400 is operativelycoupled to one or more sensors for making qualitative or quantitativemeasurements of a subject. Such measurements may relate to the subject'sdietary consumption, exercise, health condition and/or mental condition.The one or more sensors can be selected from weight sensors, eyesensors, body temperature sensors, blood pressure sensors, heart ratesensors, brain wave sensors, humidity sensors and pH sensors. In anexample, a subject's weight scale is configured to communicate with thepoint of service system 400 during or subsequent to the subject taking ameasurement of the subject's weight. The point of service system 400 cancollect the subject's weight and store that in a memory location, insome cases with a timestamp associated with the point at which thesubject's weight was measured. Alternatively, the weight scale cantransmit information relating to the subject's weight to the remotedevice 403, which can subsequently transmit the information to thesystem 400.

Information as to a user's dietary consumption, exercise, healthcondition and/or mental condition can be maintained in a user profile.In some cases, the profile can be maintained in a memory location of adevice or system implementing the methods provided herein, such as, forexample, the system 400 of FIGS. 4A and 4B. In other cases, the profilecan be maintained in a memory location of a computer system remote fromthe device of system implementing the method provided herein. In somesituations, the profile can be accessed by the user and edited, updatedor deleted.

In some situations, details as to a user's dietary consumption,exercise, health condition and/or mental condition can be provided by adevice associated with the user. For instance, the distance a user haswalked, which may be relevant to an activity of the user, can beprovided by a device having an accelerometer or pedometer and softwarefor recording distance traveled. Such a device can be in communicationwith a device for keeping a record of the user's dietary consumption,exercise, health condition and/or mental condition, such as the system400. Such a system can be in communication with a system for collectingsuch information and for updating a user's profile. For instance, theinformation can be uploaded to the system 400 and used to update theuser's activity diary.

As an example, the intensity of the user's activity can be measuredusing an accelerometer, which can be included in a portable electronicdevice (e.g., iPhone). The intensity information can be transferred to adevice or system keeping a record of the user's dietary consumption,exercise, health condition and/or mental condition, such as the system400, and further calibrated with the aid of reference information. Insome situations, the intensity information can be calibrated on theportable electronic device using the methods described above.

In some cases, the system 400 includes various sub-systems to collectphysiological data from a user (or subject). Examples of sub-systemsinclude, without limitation, a blood pressure cuff, pulse oximeter,temperature sensor (e.g., thermometer), lie detector, and iris scannerfor measuring iris dilation. The sub-systems can be included in thesystem 400, or coupled to the device as peripheral devices.

The system (or device) 400 can be as described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/244,946 to Holmes (“SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORCOLLECTING AND TRANSMITTING ASSAY RESULTS”) and U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/244,947 to Holmes et al. (“SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORMULTI-ANALYSIS”), which applications are entirely incorporated herein byreference. For instance, the system 400 can include a plurality ofmodules mounted on a support structure. An individual module of theplurality of modules can comprise a sample preparation station, assaystation, and/or detection station. In addition, the system 400 can beconfigured to perform (a) at least one sample preparation procedureselected from the group consisting of sample processing, centrifugation,separation, and chemical processing, and (b) multiple types of assaysselected from the group consisting of immunoassay, nucleic acid assay,receptor-based assay, cytometric assay, colorimetric assay, enzymaticassay, electrophoretic assay, electrochemical assay, spectroscopicassay, chromatographic assay, microscopic assay, topographic assay,calorimetric assay, turbidmetric assay, agglutination assay,radioisotope assay, viscometric assay, coagulation assay, clotting timeassay, protein synthesis assay, histological assay, culture assay,osmolarity assay, and combinations thereof. The multiple types of assaysare performed with the aid of isolated assay units contained within thesystem 400.

In some situations, the system 400 can access a network with the aid ofsystems and methods disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/244,836 to Balwani (“NETWORK CONNECTIVITY SYSTEMS AND METHODS”),which application is entirely incorporated herein by reference.

Information can be exchanged to and from a user with the aid of agraphical user interface implemented on a system or device providedherein. In some embodiments, a graphical user interface includes aplurality of icons or buttons. FIG. 5 shows an exemplary graphical userinterface (GUI) 500, as can be implemented on the point of servicesystem 400 or a remote computer system, such as the remote device 403.The GUI 500 includes a diet module 501, activity module 502, diarymodule 503, physiological data module 504, question module 505, andprescription database module 506. Each module can be implemented usingan application (or “app”) configured to be executed or otherwiseimplemented on an operating system of a device hosting the GUI 500.

Each of the modules 501-506 can aid in collecting information from asubject by presenting a subject with a series of questions, such as withthe aid of a guided questionnaire (or survey), as described herein. Thediet module 501 can be used to collect dietary information from asubject. Dietary information can include details as to the material(edible or inedible) the subject has consumed (e.g., liquid, solid, orsemi-solid material) or is contemplating eating or drinking. Theactivity module 502 can be used to collect information as to thesubject's one or more activities, such as exercise routines and sports.The diary module 503 can be used to collect information as to asubject's daily routines, such as the subject past activities, currentactivities or future activities, in addition to the subject's thoughtsand recollections. The physiological data module 504 can be used tocollect information relating to a subject's physiological data, such as,for example, temperature, heart rate, oxygen saturation, and/or skinconductivity. The question module 505 is used to enable a subject to askthe system or a healthcare provider a question, such as a questionrelating to the subject's health. The prescription database module 506is used to assist the subject in fulfilling a prescription, such as byordering one or more drugs at a pharmacy, which may be in communication(e.g., network communication) with a device having the modules 501-506.

The question module 505 can enable a user to initiate a conversationwith a system, such as to ask the system questions (e.g., health relatedquestions). In an example, the system 400 is provided at a pharmacy orother professional location (e.g., doctor's office waiting room,hospital lobby) and the system 400 provides the user questions andanswers to determine whether a drug regimen or treatment of the user mayrequire modification, and if so, recommend to that user that the usershould consult a doctor or healthcare provider for further informationon the user's drug regimen.

The modules 501-506 can be implemented on a point of service device,such as the point of service system 400, or a remote computer system,such as the remote device 403. Each module can be linked to aquestionnaire (or survey) having one or more questions and, in somecases, one or more reference (or calibration) questions, as describedherein.

In another embodiment, provided herein is a computer readable mediumcomprising machine-executable code implementing a method for calibratinguser responses to questions relating to dietary consumption, exercise,health condition, or mental condition. The method can be any methoddescribed herein. In some embodiments, the method comprises presenting,with the aid of a computer system and an interactive display operativelycoupled to the computer system, a query to a user, the query relating tothe user's dietary consumption, exercise, health condition and/or mentalcondition. Next, with the aid of the computer system having a computerprocessor (also “processor” herein) and interactive display, a responseto the query from the user is received. With the aid of the computersystem, the response is interpreted based on a set of referenceinformation. The set of reference information comprises a pictorialdepiction of portion size of the dietary consumption, exertion level ofthe exercise, existing state of health condition, and/or existing stateof mental condition.

A questionnaire can be implemented on a system having a processor and amemory location having machine-executable code implementing a method.Aspects of devices, systems and methods provided herein can be embodiedin programming. Various aspects of the technology may be thought of as“products” or “articles of manufacture” typically in the form ofexecutable code and/or associated data that is carried on or embodied ina type of machine readable medium. “Storage” type media may include anyor all of the tangible memory of the computers, processors or the like,or associated modules thereof, such as various semiconductor memories,tape drives, disk drives and the like, which may provide non-transitorystorage at any time for the software programming. All or portions of thesoftware may at times be communicated through the Internet or variousother telecommunication networks. Such communications, for example, mayenable loading of the software from one computer or processor intoanother, for example, from a management server or host computer into thecomputer platform of an application server or an intensity transformsystem. Thus, another type of media that may bear the software elementsincludes optical, electrical and electromagnetic waves, such as usedacross physical interfaces between local devices, through wired andoptical landline networks and over various air-links. The physicalelements that carry such waves, such as wired or wireless links, opticallinks or the like, also may be considered as media bearing the software.As used herein, unless restricted to non-transitory, tangible “storage”media, terms such as computer or machine “readable medium” refer to anymedium that participates in providing instructions to a processor forexecution.

Hence, a machine readable medium, such as computer-executable code, maytake many forms, including but not limited to, a tangible storagemedium, a carrier wave medium or physical transmission medium.Non-volatile storage media include, for example, optical or magneticdisks, such as any of the storage devices in any computer(s) or thelike, such as may be used to implement the databases, etc. shown in thedrawings. Volatile storage media include dynamic memory, such as mainmemory of such a computer platform. Tangible transmission media includecoaxial cables; copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires thatcomprise a bus within a computer system. Carrier-wave transmission mediamay take the form of electric or electromagnetic signals, or acoustic orlight waves such as those generated during radio frequency (RF) andinfrared (IR) data communications. Common forms of computer-readablemedia therefore include for example: a floppy disk, a flexible disk,hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD orDVD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards paper tape, any otherphysical storage medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a ROM, a PROM andEPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wavetransporting data or instructions, cables or links transporting such acarrier wave, or any other medium from which a computer may readprogramming code and/or data. Many of these forms of computer readablemedia may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or moreinstructions to a processor for execution.

Example 1

FIG. 6 is a screenshot of a graphical user interface (GUI) having asurvey for collecting information as to a user's dietary consumption.The information can be collected from the user. The GUI can beimplemented by a system having an interactive display, such as thesystem 400 of FIGS. 4A and 4B. The GUI can permit a user to inputvarious breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack items. For instance, the usercan input a breakfast item by pressing “+Add breakfast.” The GUI showsan empty “meal diary,” which the user can populate by pressing any of“+Add breakfast,” “+Add lunch,” “+Add dinner,” and “+Add snacks.”

For instance, the user can select “+Add lunch” to provide details as towhat the user consumed for lunch. The system then asks the user toindicate what the user consumed for lunch (e.g., with the aid of a textinput box or drop-down menu with options). The system then asks the userto indicate the quantity consumed.

With reference to FIG. 7, in an example, the user selects “Ham, Sliced”for lunch. The system then asks the user for the “Amount” and “Units” ofham consumed. The user provides “1” and “Serving” as inputs for theamount and units, respectively. The system then asks the user acalibration (or reference) question to interpret what the user means bya single serving. With reference to FIG. 8, in a new screen, the systemasks the user “How big is 1 serving of sliced ham?” The system providesthe user three options (“Picture 1,” “Picture 2,” and “Picture 3”) ofdifferent sizes to choose from. The user selects the picture that bestapproximates a single serving of sliced ham.

The system presents the user with various GUI menu items to enable theuser to add food, remove food, or edit a response. The user may addother foods to the user's food diary by pressing “Add Food to Diary” GUImenu item. The user can modify or edit responses to any of the questionsby pressing the “Back” GUI menu item.

Example 2

FIG. 9 is a screenshot of a graphical user interface (GUI) having asurvey for collecting information on a user's bike riding activity. Theinformation can be collected from the user. The GUI can be implementedby a system having an interactive display, such as the system 400 ofFIGS. 4A and 4B. In the illustrated example, the user selects “BikeRiding” from various activity options and the system asks the user toinput “Duration,” “Intensity,” and “Distance.” The GUI provides the userquestions to assist the user in inputting the requested information,such as “How much time did the activity take?” The user can provide theinformation in the boxes with the questions.

The GUI provides the user various GUI menu items, such as navigating toa previous screen (“Back”) and viewing an activity list of the user (“MyActivity List”). The GUI also provides the user the option to inputother activities by pressing “+Add to Activity List.”

In FIG. 10, the user selects the “Intensity” field and chooses fromvarious options to characterize the intensity of the user's bike ridingactivity. The user selects “moderate” as the intensity and selects “SaveDetail” to proceed to the next step.

With reference to FIG. 11, the system asks the user a reference questionto interpret what the user means by “moderate.” The system provides theuser three picture options (“Picture 1,” “Picture 2,” and “Picture 3”)to choose from, at least one of which may approximate moderateintensity. For instance, “Picture 1” may show a user walking, “Picture2” may show a user jogging, and “Picture 3” may show a user sprinting.The user selects the picture that best approximates moderate intensityfor the user.

Example 3

FIG. 12 is a screenshot of a graphical user interface (GUI) having asurvey for collecting information on a user's mental condition, such asmood. The GUI can be implemented by a system having an interactivedisplay, such as the system 400 of FIGS. 4A and 4B. In the illustratedexample, the system has asked the user to select an integer from 1 to 10that captures the user's mood, with 1 corresponding to “Very Poor” and10 corresponding to “Very Good.” The user selects 6. The system thenpermits the user to proceed along the survey by pressing “Next.” Withreference to FIG. 13, the system then asks the user a reference questionto interpret what the user means by well-being 6, as selected by theuser in FIG. 12. The system provides the user three picture options(“Picture 1,” “Picture 2,” and “Picture 3”) to choose from, at least oneof which may approximate well-being 6. For instance, “Picture 1” mayshow an individual with a sad facial expression, “Picture 2” may show anindividual with a neutral facial expression, and “Picture 3” may show anindividual with a smile. The user selects the picture that bestapproximates well-being number 6.

In some cases, the picture options change based on the user's responseto questionnaire questions and/or calibration questions. For instance,the three picture options presented to the user for well-being 1 can bedifferent from the three picture options presented to the user forwell-being 6.

While the above is a complete description of the preferred embodimentsof the present invention, it is possible to use various alternatives,modifications and equivalents. Therefore, the scope of the presentinvention should be determined not with reference to the abovedescription but should, instead, be determined with reference to theappended claims, along with their full scope of equivalents. Anyfeature, whether preferred or not, may be combined with any otherfeature, whether preferred or not. The appended claims are not to beinterpreted as including means-plus-function limitations, unless such alimitation is explicitly recited in a given claim using the phrase“means for.” It should be understood that as used in the descriptionherein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a,” “an,”and “the” includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictatesotherwise. Also, as used in the description herein and throughout theclaims that follow, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unlessthe context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the descriptionherein and throughout the claims follow, terms of “include” and“contain” are open ended and do not exclude additional, unrecitedelements or method steps. Finally, as used in the description herein andthroughout the claims that follow, the meanings of “and” and “or”include both the conjunctive and disjunctive and may be usedinterchangeably unless the context expressly dictates otherwise. Thus,in contexts where the terms “and” or “or” are used, usage of suchconjunctions do not exclude an “and/or” meaning unless the contextexpressly dictates otherwise.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for calibrating user responses toquestions comprising: (a) presenting on a bodily sample processingdevice, with the aid of a computer system and an interactive displayoperatively coupled to the computer system, a query to a user, saidquery relating to said user's health condition or mental conditionwherein the sample processing device comprises a pipette, a centrifuge,and a cytometer; (b) receiving, with the aid of said computer system andinteractive display, a response to said query from said user; (c)interpreting, with the aid of a computer processor, said response basedon a set of reference information, wherein said set of referenceinformation comprises a pictorial depiction of existing state of saidhealth condition or existing state of said mental condition; (d)obtaining a bodily fluid sample from the user; and (e) changing theprocessing of the sample in the bodily sample processing device based onthe user's response; wherein said presenting comprises displaying acustomizable menu screen containing a choice of at least one of thefollowing applications: a health condition component having informationconcerning said user's health, and an interface for responding toqueries or entering information related to said user's health condition;a mental condition component having information concerning said user'smental condition, and an interface for responding to queries or enteringinformation related to said user's mental condition; and a calibrationquestionnaire component, wherein said user is presented with at leastone choice of pictorial elements relating to health condition or mentalcondition, and said user's choice of a pictorial element is used tobuild a calibration matrix to interpret said user's perception ofexisting state of said health condition or existing state of said mentalcondition.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, subsequent tostep (c), monitoring the health of said user.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein said reference information is obtained by providing to said usera choice of at least two pictorial elements, wherein said pictorialelements depict the existing state of said health condition, or theexisting state of said mental condition.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein said reference information is utilized to yield a calibrationmatrix to calibrate said user's response to said query.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said interactive display is a capacitive touch orresistive touch display.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein saidreference information is obtained prior to said query.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said reference information is obtained subsequent tosaid query.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein said response isinterpreted with the aid of a calibration matrix residing on a memorylocation of said computer system.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein saidquery is presented to said user with the aid of a graphical userinterface (GUI) on said interactive display.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein said GUI comprises a customizable menu screen containing achoice of at least one of the following applications: (a) a dietaryconsumption component, including information concerning said user's dietand an interface for entering food, drink or other related information;and (b) an exertion level component having information related to saiduser's activity habits or schedule, and an interface for enteringuser-specific activity information, exercise or other user-specificactivity-related information.
 11. A system for calibrating userresponses to questions comprising: a bodily sample processing devicecomprises a pipette, a centrifuge, and a cytometer; an interactivedisplay configured to present machine-generated graphical items to auser; and a computer system operatively coupled to said interactivedisplay, said computer system having a memory location comprisingmachine-executable code implementing, with the aid of a processor ofsaid computer system, a method comprising: (a) presenting, with the aidof said computer system and interactive display, a query to a user, saidquery relating to said user's health condition or mental condition; (b)receiving, with the aid of said computer system and interactive display,a response to said query from said user; and (c) interpreting, with theaid of said computer system, said response based on a set of referenceinformation, wherein said set of reference information comprises apictorial depiction of existing state of said health condition, orexisting state of said mental condition; (d) obtaining a bodily fluidsample from the user; and (e) changing the processing of the sample inthe bodily sample processing device based on the user's response. 12.The system of claim 11, wherein said reference information is utilizedto yield a calibration matrix to calibrate said user's response to saidquery.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein said interactive display is acapacitive touch or resistive touch display.
 14. The system of claim 11,wherein said response is interpreted with the aid of a calibrationmatrix residing on a memory location of said computer system.
 15. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein said memory location comprises machineexecutable code for implementing, on said interactive display, agraphical user interface (GUI).
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein saidGUI comprises a customizable menu screen containing a choice of at leastone of the following applications: (a) a dietary consumption component,including information concerning said user's diet and an interface forentering food, drink or other related information; and (b) an exertionlevel component having information related to said user's activityhabits or schedule, and an interface for entering user-specific activityinformation, exercise or other user-specific activity-relatedinformation.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein one or more responsesto said at least one of the following applications are interpreted usingan internal calibration matrix of said user's perception of portion sizeof said dietary consumption, exertion level of said exercise, existingstate of health condition or existing state of mental condition.
 18. Thesystem of claim 17, wherein said internal calibration matrix is storedon a memory location of said computer system.
 19. The system of claim16, wherein said customizable menu screen contains a choice of at leasttwo of said applications.
 20. A method for calibrating user responses toquestions relating to dietary consumption, exercise, health condition,or mental condition, comprising: (a) presenting on a point-of-servicebodily fluid sample processing device, with the aid of a computer systemand an interactive display operatively coupled to the computer system, aquery to a user, said query relating to said user's dietary consumption,exercise, health condition and/or mental condition; (b) receiving, withthe aid of said computer system and interactive display, a response tosaid query from said user; and (c) interpreting, with the aid of acomputer processor, said response based on a set of referenceinformation, wherein said set of reference information comprisespictorial depictions displayed to the user showing existing state ofhealth condition and/or existing state of mental condition, wherein theset of reference information is generated by i) the user selectingpictorial depictions that best matches their qualitative descriptionsand ii) mapping quantitative information associated user selectedpictorial depictions to quantify user qualitative descriptions; (d)obtaining a bodily fluid sample from the user; (e) changing theprocessing of the sample in the bodily fluid sample processing devicebased on the user's response; and (f) using the bodily fluid sampleprocessing device to process the bodily fluid sample, wherein the sampleprocessing device comprises a pipette, a centrifuge, and a cytometer.